New York Knicks Find Themselves in a Unfamiliar Role at Trade Deadline

For the first time in probably over a decade , the Knicks are not sellers at the trade deadline and are likely standing pat .

They are dumping players for next year 's salary cap , and they aren 't taking on expiring contracts for some scheme that will land a star player in a year or two . Instead , they seem to be sticking with what they have , at least according to Mike Woodson

I truly hope this is the case , firstly because I like the group the Knicks have right now . Could it improve ? Of course . Teams can always improve . However , given what is out there right now in the trade market and what it would cost , I think the Knicks 'best move would be to stand strong and ride what they have .

It may be getting old by now , but the Knicks are due to get a few injured players back eventually in Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby . I 'm not suggesting that either of these guys are the X -factor , but both are big -man veterans with a defensive mindset .

If I haven 't convinced you yet , let 's look at a few of the trade scenarios floating around and how terrible they really are .

One of the bigger reports gaining momentum today in a tweet from Alex Kennedy suggests that the Knicks and Orlando Magicare in talks to potentially swap ImanShumpertfor JJ Redick .

Sure , Redick is having a pretty solid year , averaging around 15 PPG , but he 's on a terrible Orlando team where he is one of the main scorers . What good would it do throwing him into this Knicks squad ? He would never come anywhere near the scoring power of Carmelo Anthony, even J .R . Smith averages more points per game .

Also , the benefits of keeping Shumpert over trading him for a player like Redickoutweighthe costs . Shumpert is six years younger than Redick , and he has a much larger frame (according to ESPN , he weighs 220 to Redick 's 190 ) . I know weight doesn 't mean a ton in the NBA, but a large defensive body is always a plus . We already know Shumpert is a great defensive player . We saw it last year , and the Knicks just need to be patient with him . He had a pretty substantial knee injury last year , and it will take time for him to heal and feel 100 percent , not just physically , but with confidence level as well .

Instead of a trade move , I think the Knicks would benefit more from signing free agent Kenyon Martin , as Kennedy said last week on Twitter. Martin played with 'Melo in Denver, so we know there is compatibility there . Sure , he is 35 , but Martin plays with grit and aggressiveness , something you can never have too much of (unless , of course , he starts getting too many technical fouls ) .

The Knicks made the mistake for years of trading young talent away for a veteran player , but Woodson and the Knicks really like Shump as a player , so I 'm hopeful and daresay even confident they will not trade him .

The Knicks have a must -win tonight as they kick off the second half of the season at the Pacerstonight . Tipoff is set for 7 :00 p .m . ET .

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Tommy Beer from Basketball Insiders joined Anthony on his show to talk about everything going on in Knick land and like always they had plenty to talk about. Why did Steve Kerr turn down the Knicks, who's next and will Carmelo Anthony stay? A must listen for all Knicks fans!

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